THE PARADISE LOST APPEAL: DAY SEVEN; GOD TAKES THE STAND
NOTE: This original source is Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). . . . The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angelSatan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, as stated in Book I, is to "justify the ways of God to men."
THE PARADISE LOST APPEAL: DAY SEVEN; GOD TAKES THE STAND
The heavenly courtroom is a mixture of hot and cold, of good and evil, and of darkness and light. In communication frenzy, several lawyers, clients, and witnesses shout to one another. They hover around the courtroom tables, trying to hammer out crucial details. The judge and jury enter the courtroom. All of the trial’s participants frantically dart to their seats. The Paradise Lost trial reconvenes.
The prosecuting attorney, arguing against Adam and Eve’s appeal to be reinstated in Eden confidently brings out his key witness: God. Upon God’s entrance, the lights are shut off; everyone dons sunglasses to shield their eyes from His holy light. God is seated.
The prosecutor begins:
“Before I begin questioning God, if I may call you God (God nods in approval), I would like to give you the jury, a little background on this being’s character. God has existed forever and will continue to exist forever. He is the creator of all things, the foundation of all knowledge, and the keeper of everything’s fate. God remains and will forever remain the most powerful king anywhere. From the tiny tick to the scorching sun, anything and everything is God’s creation.
“With His awesome powers come a great responsibility. Clearly, God is no slouch. He is fair, responsible, and loving in all aspects of His existence. For instance, that being (pointing a Satan), the Prince of Darkness, Lord of Flies, Mr. Satan, actually tried to depose God and dismantle His holy reign. However, due to God’s grace, he only succeeded in upsetting Heaven, causing a senseless war, and inflicting unnecessary pain on himself and others. What did our loving God do to this creature to reprimand him? God only dismissed him from Heaven and gave him his own kingdom to rule.
“Look at him (Satan), he seems satisfied. He himself commented that it is ‘better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.’ It looks like God may have done Mr. Satan a favor in allowing him to go to hell. He got a place to rule and a place to call home. At least, in giving Satan hell, God saved all His creations, ended an unfortunate problem, and tried to satisfy everyone.
“Well, you may be saying that in that Satanic instance, God was fair but what about in the Adam and Eve apple incident. You might be thinking that with God’s foreknowledge, why did he allow the fall to occur?
It is simple. Imagine God as a set of parents: a father and a mother. This couple possesses an inexhaustible supply of resources and an unlimited supply of wealth generated by several businesses, which they gladly plan to share with their upcoming family. In the beginning with their first born, Daemon the family lives contented and continues to share their wealth. They tell Daemon that we have plenty, just work with us. You will be provided for forever. Over time, however, Daemon grows up and becomes dissatisfied with his share of the wealth; he has all that he needs but desires more, more wealth than his parents or at least as much wealth as his parents. So, Daemon chooses to continue work in the family’s businesses, toiling long hours and secretly hoarding profits. Besides overworking, he is skimming money and stealing to build a fortune.
“His parents know about Daemon’s deceit but allow him to continue because they love him enough to want him to be happy. They think maybe he will change. After a time, the parents become concerned that their son will eventually perish from needless exhaustion if allowed to continue working this way and that his dishonesty will spread to other workers. Things don’t improve. Daemon remains miserable and jealous. He despises his parent’s business. He bad mouths his parents to others. He agitates other employees. He is destroying himself and others. Therefore, his parents have no choice but to tell him that he can not longer work in their businesses or share their wealth. Instead Daemon is given his own land miles away where he can create what he desires from scratch. Without his parent’s foundation and endless resources, he will never equal their wealth. Yet, jealous desires drive him on, even though inevitably, he will fail to equal their success. Empty hearted, he pollutes and destroys in a frivolous race that he has already lost. He lives incomplete, consumed with envy. Sounds like our horned habitual offender over there, Mr. Satan.
“But to continue, years later, these parents (God) have two other children: Carlton and Wilbur. Both sons grow up to live and work with their parents. As a result of Daemon’s earlier squandering, the family now lives in a castle overlooking a road that both Carlton and Wilbur must take to get to work. The parents can easily watch the comings-and-goings of the sons. The family seems happy for a while. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that one son, Wilbur is content while the other son, Carlton is dissatisfied. Carlton often watches the luring lights of his oldest brother Daemon’s far off factory, wondering what it is like to be running his own show. His parents recognize this state of longing and warn him of the effects greed had on his older brother. Trying to preserve happiness, the parents set one strong rule: Wilbur and Carlton had to be back in the castle by six or would lose their employment, home, and inheritance. These parents wanted their younger sons to avoid the fate of their older brother. They wanted influence but still wanted to give the sons free will. If their rule wasn’t acceptable, each could opt out by breaking it. “For a while it worked. Until one day, Carlton works overtime again, even after repeated warnings by Wilbur that he would be late. Wilbur finally leaves work and makes it home on time. Carlton eventually finishes work and then races down the road towards home. In spite of his pace, he will be late. His parents watch from their tower as Carlton flies forward. They know he won’t make it. At six, with Carlton still outside, they shut and then bolt the castle door.
“They love Carlton but can not allow him to re-enact the fate of his older brother. It simply would lead to his self-destruction and too much pain. If they let him come in this time, this kind of behavior would continue until his death. Carlton like his older brother obviously feels jealous of his parent’s wealth. His parents figure that if Carlton wanted to break set rules in his attempts to equal their wealth, then he could be on his own. After all, his display of rule breaking showed dissatisfaction with his current position. He made the choice. His parent’s loved him so much that they let him go to satisfy his own free will. They did not want to make him unhappy by forcing their will on him.
“Like Carlton, Adam and Eve knew the rules, the penalty, and had no reason to want more. God creates His creatures to be free. Like the parents, God saw what was happening and knew the outcome. What could he do? If he intervened, then what of man’s free will? God knows His creatures love freedom of choice, how could he take something that they love away. Adam and Eve fell by their own choice. God’s love for them is in letting them fall. In their fall, Adam and Eve use God’s loving gift of choice. Without free choice, they could never be considered free or their own beings. Why should they exist at all if God controls their lives? God knows the answer to any question before it is asked, but why should He tamper with beings that want to make free choices.
“Like Satan, and the two greedy sons, man can not be forgiven because his desire to reach a rich and omnipotent position will continue to foster rule breaking actions. If the apple incident were dismissed, a never-ending cycle to be like God would have begun and placed man in a no win situation, like Satan.
“In this apple incident, poor God gets taken advantage of again. Man, like Satan must realize God cannot be duplicated or equaled in His existence. As usual, in this apple affair, God again satisfies His tormentor by giving man a world in which to reign with complete free will. On earth, God allows man to set his own restrictions and in a sense be a God. It seems more than a fair deal for common thieves.
“On the issue of Satan interfering with Adam, Eve, and the apple, this issue is immaterial. It was still their choice. God warned Adam that sinister forces were at work. They knew the law, were warned about Satan, and ate the apple anyway. Therefore, Adam and Eve are subject to their punishment.”
For the first time, the prosecutor squints cautiously at God’s blinding light and asks, “Why did you give Adam and Eve this light punishment?”
“Because, I love them,” stated a voice that already knew the verdict. “No further questions. Defense, your witness.”